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Colson and McDonald both suffered injuries in the Fever’s crushing defeat to the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday. The team announced on Friday that the two will miss the final 13 regular-season games plus any playoff action.
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For Colson, it’s a torn ACL — a devastating injury for anyone, but especially a 36-year-old. She wanted to come to the Fever this season and was a valued off-court veteran on top of her 2.4 points and 2.0 assists per game.
She had been a steady enough backup to Caitlin Clark and McDonald all season, providing more value on defense than on offense. She played in alignments with two point guards often to get more ball-handling on the floor.
After 30 appearances, the fourth-most of Colson’s 11-year career, her season is done. That would be survivable for the Fever if they still had McDonald, but the fifth-year pro has a broken bone in her right foot.
McDonald was playing well for Indiana and starting games with Clark sidelined. Without her, the Fever wouldn’t have turned their season around with a recent winning streak.
After battling through a hardship contract and some hurdles with her fit on the team, McDonald started a career-high 13 times for the Fever. She averaged 9.8 points and 4.7 assists per game in 20 appearances.
Any two season-ending injuries are crushing. When they’re at the same position, it obviously presents more challenges for a team.
For the Fever, it’s even more devastating. Not only did they lose two point guards, perhaps the most important position in the sport, but they lost their entire rotation at the position for the time being. Clark, who has been in and out of the lineups due to injuries all season, is currently sidelined indefinitely.
No Clark, no Colson and no McDonald means the Fever have just nine healthy players and zero healthy point guards. They are in a bind with the trade deadline having already passed.
A league source told The Next that the Indiana front office is actively working to bring in players on hardship deals as soon as possible, which would be prior to the team’s game against the Dallas Wings on Tuesday. They need point guard help immediately, and they’ll need depth at the position even when Clark eventually returns.
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In the meantime, and perhaps even while some hardship additions are getting up to speed, expect Kelsey Mitchell to operate as the lead ball-handler often. Sophie Cunningham has brought the ball up on rare occasions this season, so she’ll have to be ready for more reps as an initiator as well.
The Fever are deep and healthy in the frontcourt, so look for head coach Stephanie White to tilt her lineups toward having more size on the floor as the Fever search for advantages in other ways. The spacing provided by the recently signed Chloe Bibby may be important in such configurations.
The Fever’s season to date has been defined by a start-stop nature. Clark, DeWanna Bonner, McDonald, Damiris Dantas and Cunningham have all been absent at times, and White missed two games herself. Combine that with midseason additions, and it’s no wonder the Fever took a while to find chemistry and click.
Just two games after their most connected stretch of the season, Indiana lost two players who had been an important part of their success. The front office will have to be active to keep the WNBA’s fifth-place team moving in a positive direction.
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
